Berkeley Div. searches for dean

Nearly a year after Berkeley Divinity School Dean William Franklin resigned amid accusations of misappropriating funds, Yale President Richard Levin said the search for a new dean is under way and will likely be completed by the spring.

Franklin resigned in December after the Hartford Courant reported the contents of a Yale-initiated confidential audit showing that Franklin had used some of the school’s funds to pay for his daughter’s Harvard Medical School education and other personal expenses. The Berkeley Divinity School signed a reaffiliation agreement with the Yale Divinity School in March.

Since Franklin’s resignation, Rev. Frederick Borsch has held the position of interim dean. Borsch is a trustee at Princeton University and a retired bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles.

Levin, Borsch and Yale Divinity School Dean Harold Attridge said they expected the selection process to be over by the end of the academic year.

“We would be hoping for no later than the beginning of April, probably earlier,” Borsch said.

A special selection committee produced a job description that they publicized in national publications. The deadline for applications is Nov. 15. After an initial winnowing, about a half-dozen candidates will be interviewed at the Yale Club in New York City. Two or three will be invited to campus.

The new dean appointed by Berkeley’s Board of Trustees will be subject to the approval of Attridge.

Although the names of candidates are confidential, Attridge did describe the qualities the committee was looking for.